Foxhole Sars V St Dennis

[dave bunt]

Pitch passed 10:00 am inspection, soft but playable.

Kick off 2:00 pm

[goosefish]

shud b a decent match 2 watch good luck 2 both teams :smiley20:

[Santini11]

Foxhole Stars 0-2 St Dennis

Saints Scorers:

Carl Rickard

Scott Hill

Bit of a scrappy local derby really, 2 players sent off, 1 on each team. Countless amount of bookings.....I felt we were quite comfortable today, defended well and was quick on the break. All the best to our neighbours for the rest of the season.

[Nemesis]

Gutted to have missed this one, although there was some Ref who watched our game and left early to get to yours to do an assessment. Why do Refs always dish out more cards when they know they are being assessed ?

We had 4 bookings which on any other day would have been one. Bradders get upset about a two footer, I can't believe it !

What was the crowd at Foxhole, anyone know ?

[Santini11]

It always the case with 'some' refs mate.....very frustrating! Um.......I'm not to sure on the crowd, maybe about 250-300, don't quote me on that though!

[I was onside]

It always the case with 'some' refs mate.....very frustrating! Um.......I'm not to sure on the crowd, maybe about 250-300, don't quote me on that though!

Just had a look at who the ref was.....enough said!!!!!!!

[soccer fan]

i was onside who was the ref?

[Darin Morse]

Foxhole 0 St Dennis 2

Monday 26th December 2011

With the mild weather and a staggered kick off time helping to persuade a large crowd to swap the pull of Mansfield Park for Goverseth Park the stage was set for a pulsating clay country derby full of passion and energy, thrills and controversy. However somebody forgot to tell the players as two desperately ordinary teams served up fare as unappealing as Yuletide dinner in North Korea. Foxhole in particular took the notion of seasonal munificence to extreme levels by generously affording the opposition copious time and space from the off but it says much for the general dearth of quality that St Dennis, despite enjoying almost absolute tenure of the ball in the first half, were only able to threaten Ryan Holland twice. Carl Rickard seized on Spaul's slip to race clear only to be denied by the keeper brilliantly tipping his fierce drive onto the bar before his twenty-five yard free-kick found the bottom corner just after the half hour.

Gotthardt had been booked for his challenge on Bird, and the home team perhaps had cause to feel aggrieved that a foul seconds earlier on Trudgian had not been penalised. By then it was ten a side, the referee deeming a twenty-third minute altercation between Kenny and Bradd worthy of instant dismissal for each, while Griffin, the recipient all year round of brightly coloured cards betraying messages from people with whom he has merely a passing acquaintance, was fortunate not to join them for typically getting involved. His caution served only to blunt his edge for the remainder of the game, he simultaneously losing strike partner Trudgian as Foxhole tried vainly to plug the gaps in midfield. St Dennis too changed their shape, ostensibly to 4-3-2 but more like 2-5-2 as Bird and Brown were required to do precious little defending, the characteristically unmarked latter volleying wide Hawke's fine cross in a rare moment of goalmouth incident entirely out of character with a forgettable opening period.

It's not saying much but Foxhole were better after the break and ought to have equalised within five minutes once the hitherto untroubled Dave Rickard had been pressured into fluffing a routine clearance. Griffin's chip, though, lacked conviction, the marine possibly having been dazzled by the garish pink fancy dress outfit donned by Allen, presumably eager to commence his New Year's celebrations a week prematurely. Unfortunately the Foxes displayed few signs of capitalising either on Allen's evident reluctance to attempt to actually catch the ball or their increased possession sparked by the belated arrival of both Talbot and especially Cunningham, but at least demonstated their hospitality by nobly providing former skipper Rowe with some valuable heading practice.

Against the run of play Hill, previously booked for dissent, made it 2-0 by racing away down the left before turning inside Faircloth and planting his shot into the far corner midway through the half. For all his aversion to playing the simple pass Griffin was again the best hope of providing a lifeline and his excellent run and cross induced some alarm on seventy-four minutes but Talbot was unable to force home the loose ball, while substitute Warne, who along with fellow replacement Geach and Scott Brown brought to eleven the number of ex-Foxes today wearing blue, squandered a chance to seal the victory by blazing over from twelve yards before almost immediately committing an unnecessary foul to join the rest of the rascals in Mr Edge's bulging notebook, into which Spaul was soon to talk his way. Foxhole's delivery of crosses and free-kicks from wide areas had been lamentable but they at last found their range in the final few minutes and can reasonably claim that, despite such an overall disappointing performance, they could well have snatched at least a point. Griffin headed wide centres from Trudgian and Adam Holland, who himself saw a flick header from Thomas' dead ball drop narrowly wide, while Trudgian forced Allen into a decent save to his left from a free-kick from the edge of the box to leave the gathered faithful to wonder why they hadn't got in the faces of an eminently beatable St Dennis team an hour and a half earlier.

Foxhole (4-4-2): Ryan Holland; Richard Faircloth (sub. Jamie Coates), Ben Thomas, Ryan Stephen, Adam Holland; Orrin Crowle (sub. Aaron Talbot), Jaydon Gotthardt (sub. Shaun Cunningham), Sam Kenny, Ben Spaul; Richard Griffin, Adam Trudgian.

St Dennis (3-5-2): Brett Allen; Dave Rickard (sub. Jason Warne), Mark Rowe, Lee Bradd; CJ Bird, Chris Brown, Richard Hawke, Lee Rickard, Kyle Friendship (sub. Gareth Geach); Carl Rickard (sub. Scott Brown), Scott Hill.

Referee: Mr Shaun Edge (Torpoint).